Opera fairs badly in China? (8)
I believe the answer is:
parsifal
'opera' is the definition.
(opera by Richard Wagner)
'fairs badly in china?' is the wordplay.
'badly' is an anagram indicator.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'china?' becomes 'pal' (china plate is Cockney rhyming slang for mate).
'fairs' with letters rearranged gives 'rsifa'.
'rsifa' inserted within 'pal' is 'PARSIFAL'.
(Other definitions for parsifal that I've seen before include "hero of old" , "In opera featuring flower-maidens" , "Wagner opera" , "Wagner's grail drama" , "music drama" .)