Character in an opera to see and copy (5)
I believe the answer is:
mimic
'copy' is the definition.
(mimicking is a kind of copying)
'character in an opera to see' is the wordplay.
'character in an opera' becomes 'mimi' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to see' becomes 'c' (the word for the letter, according to Chambers).
'mimi'+'c'='MIMIC'
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mimic that I've seen before include "Mock" , "Act like" , "Imitate, copy appearance or mannerisms" , "'Copy, imitate (5)'" , "Go round a bend (in car)" .)