Crossword Genius

Singer thus performed in elevated work (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

soprano

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'singer' is the definition.
(type of singing voice)

'thus performed in elevated work' is the wordplay.
'thus' becomes 'so' (synonyms).
'performed' becomes 'ran' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'elevated' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'op' reversed gives 'po'.
'ran' going inside 'po' is 'prano'.
'so'+'prano'='SOPRANO'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for soprano that I've seen before include "Highly vocal musician" , "(Singer of) the highest vocal range" , "Female singing voice" , "Producer of high-pitched sounds" , "gangster" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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