Operetta? Pop off -- left quickly, certain to return to collect mother (3,10)
I believe the answer is:
die fledermaus
'operetta?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'pop off left quickly certain to return to collect mother' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'left' could be 'fled' (fleeing is a kind of leaving) and 'fled' is found within the answer.
'mother' could be 'ma' (ma is a kind of mother) and 'ma' is found in the answer.
'pop off' could be 'die' and 'die' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for die fledermaus that I've seen before include "Johann Strauss operetta (The Bat)" , "Musical drama" , "Strauss work" .)