Crossword Genius

Opera gets in twice the composer (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

toscanini

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'composer' is the definition.
(I know this)

'opera gets in twice' is the wordplay.
'opera' becomes 'tosca' (Giacomo Puccini opera).
'gets in' becomes 'ni' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'twice' shows that letters should be duplicated.
'ni' duplicated is 'nini'.
'tosca'+'nini'='TOSCANINI'

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for toscanini that I've seen before include "Acclaimed Italian conductor" , "Arturo --, Italian conductor" , "Bare rock formation" , "He conducted" , "Maestro" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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