Carl Barat urged opera bosses to tone down 'camp' costume
Rocker CARL BARAT begged opera bosses to re-design his costume when he was cast as Roman emperor NERO in a French stage show, fearing the camp outfit would ruin his wildman image.
The former Libertines star accepted the part in Pop'pea, an opera inspired by Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea, which debuted last week (ends03Jun12) at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
He donned a flamboyant costume featuring knee-high boots, feathers, chains, and a cape for his performance - and revealed he looked even more effeminate in the original clothes producers asked him to wear.
Barat tells rock magazine NME, "I had to ask them to take down the camp-ness of the costume a bit."