The Yellow Princess, Op. 30

Like many French artists at this time, Saint-Saëns was influenced by the Japonism movement in Paris. He appealed to this public taste by choosing a story about a Japanese princess, although it is set in the Netherlands. The music is characterized by a "light and brisk" quality that uses pentatonic harmony to evoke an "oriental" sound. The story follows Kornélis, a student who is fascinated by all things Japanese, and his cousin Léna, who is in love with Kornélis. Kornélis, however, is too obsessed with his portrait of Ming, a Japanese girl, to notice his cousin's affections for him. In a fantastical dream caused by a potion, Kornélis is transported to Japan. At first enthralled, he eventually becomes disillusioned as he comes to the realization that he is in love with Léna.