Help finish off Italian opera (3)
I believe the answer is:
aid
'help' is the definition.
('aid' can be a synonym of 'help')
'finish off italian opera' is the wordplay.
'finish off' means to remove the last letter.
'italian opera' becomes 'aida'.
'aida' with its last letter taken away is 'AID'.
(Other definitions for aid that I've seen before include "charity" , "technique that can produce pregnancy" , "Relief" , "Auxiliary" , "Help or support" .)