Singer producing sick note before start of recital (5)
I believe the answer is:
tenor
'singer' is the definition.
(I know that tenor is a type of singer)
'sick note before start of recital' is the wordplay.
'sick' indicates an anagram.
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'start of' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'recital' is 'r'.
'note' with letters rearranged gives 'teno'.
'teno'+'r'='TENOR'
'producing' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tenor that I've seen before include "thread" , "Male voice of high pitch, like Luciano" , "Male 17" , "High voice - low bell" , "General meaning of a male voice" .)