A year ago, the Royal Opera House in London staged a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in several locations thanks to the sponsoring of British Petroleum. Corporate support enabled the Royal Opera to dramatically increase its reach and presence. But the day before the curtain was lifted on the show, 75 top classical musicians in the United Kingdom wrote an open a letter urging the Royal Opera to cut its ties with BP, the company that they described as “buy[ing] social legitimacy that it does not deserve.” Several renowned artists decided to cut their ties with the institution. The boycott was a blow to the Royal Opera’s reputation in the art world.