Girl who could have a lead in opera (3)
I believe the answer is:
ida
'girl' is the definition.
'have a lead in opera' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'id' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'who could' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ida that I've seen before include "princess on stage" , "Poetic princess" , "Cretan mountain - Gilbert and Sullivan princess" , "Princess __ (G&S comic opera)" , "Classic mount" .)