Early opera providing sources of operatic recitative for every opera (5)
I believe the answer is:
orfeo
'early opera' is the definition.
'orfeo' can be an answer for 'opera' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'early' bit.
'sources of operatic recitative for every opera' is the wordplay.
'sources of' suggests taking the first letters (the beginning of a word is its sauce).
The first letters of 'operatic recitative for every opera' is 'ORFEO'.
'providing' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for orfeo that I've seen before include "Opera hero" , "Monteverdi opera" .)