Heavy-hearted female character in opera (4)

I believe the answer is:

aida

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'opera' is the definition.
(Verdi opera)

'heavy-hearted female character in' is the wordplay.
'heavy-hearted female' becomes 'ada' (I've seen this in other clues. I am not sure about the 'heavy-hearted' bit.).
'character' becomes 'i'.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'ada' going around 'i' is 'AIDA'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aida that I've seen before include "slave of Covent Garden" , "Princess" , "Verdi's slave girl" , "title role" , "Fragrant shrub" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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