The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 4 letter word OPERATIC ARIA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
P
E
R
A
T
I
C
A
R
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A
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "performance at La Scala?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case performance at la scala? = operatic aria.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.