Curtailed ape's role in Italian opera (4)
I believe the answer is:
mimi
'role in italian opera' is the definition.
(role in Puccini's La boheme)
'curtailed ape's' is the wordplay.
'curtailed' means to remove the last letter.
'ape' becomes 'mimic' (I've seen this in another clue).
'mimic' with its final letter removed is 'MIMI'.
(Other definitions for mimi that I've seen before include "I'm, I'm mad about the heroine in 'La Boheme'" , "'They call me - - ' , (Lucia)" , "unfortunate sewer" , "Tragic heroine" , "Puccini heroine" .)