Operatic character to see and copy (5)
I believe the answer is:
mimic
'copy' is the definition.
(mimicking is a kind of copying)
'operatic character to see' is the wordplay.
'operatic character' becomes 'mimi' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to see' becomes 'c' (the word for the letter, according to Chambers).
'mimi'+'c'='MIMIC'
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mimic that I've seen before include "Caricature" , "Take (someone) off" , "Go round a bend (in car)" , "Imitate, copy appearance or mannerisms" , "'Copy, imitate (5)'" .)