The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 6 letter word LA BOHEME
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
L
A
B
O
H
E
M
E
More clues leading to the result LA BOHEME
- American guy joining that chap in uninspiring opera
- . US chap – he will appear in unsatisfactory opera
- Hum with male during weak opera
- A lot of work at the NY Met with timeless subject in opera
- By box office, man wears flamboyant fabric for opera
- What’s up after stink in feeble opera
- Finales of Figaro, Macbeth and Salome involved in Melba’s orchestration for
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "opera" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case opera = la boheme.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.