Includes bibliographical references (p. [vi]-x) and index.

The Cast and Setting -- Arnaud's Correspondence to Italy -- The Journal de Paris on the Offensive -- Libel of La Harpe by Allusion -- The Armide Episode -- Piccinni's Opera and Further Events -- Disinterested Observers -- Profit and Power.

"The founding in 1777 of the Journal de Paris, France's first daily and distinctly commercial paper, represents an early use of disinformation as a tool for political gain, profit, and societal division. To attract a large readership and bar competition for C. W. Gluck's works at the Paris Opéra, it launched a prolonged campaign of anonymous lies, mockery and defamation against two prominent members of the Académie Française who wished the Opéra to be open to all deserving composers, but lacked a comparable daily forum with which to defend themselves. In this unique episode, music served as a smokescreen for nefarious activity. No musical knowledge is necessary to follow this purely political drama, in which the tactics employed bear a remarkable resemblance to current events"--