La Princesse Jaune (literally The Yellow Princess) was the first of Saint-Saëns’ operas to be staged, and despite initially being a flop (it ran for only five performances) it was something of a trailblazer in terms of subject matter. While things Japanese became the rage late in the 19th century, Saint-Saëns’ tale of a young man’s obsession with the picture of a Japanese princess appeared in 1872; some 13 years before The Mikado and 15 years before the appearance of Pierre Loti’s (in)famous novel, Madame Chrysanthème, which formed the basis not only of an opera by Messager but, more importantly, inspired Puccini’s 1904 hit, Madama Butterfly.

Lyric Opera of Melbourne are to be congratulated for giving the work its Australian premiere season in a simple, thoughtful and elegant production, directed by Miki Oikawa. There is no avoiding the fact that this opéra comique is a product of its time and place. The decision to translate the title as The Japanese Princess could be seen an act of political correctness, but it does accurately convey the geographical nature of the scenario. References to “slanty eyes” and the like have to be taken with a grain of salt and balanced up against...