The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word TURANDOT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
U
R
A
N
D
O
T
More clues leading to the result TURANDOT
- Moving around in dry, unfinished opera
- Poor tutor embracing joiner in Puccini opera
- Opera performance concealing adult point
- Playing truant, about to perform opera
- Opera, all in French, turned up including strip
- Spiv returning clutching money for Verdi composition
- Runt toad could be Puccini princess
- Noted drama to return following injury to aunt by discharged round
- Tutor playing around with opera
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "unfinished opera" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case unfinished opera = turandot.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.