Stage entertainment long before debut of opera (5)
I believe the answer is:
panto
'stage entertainment' is the definition.
'panto' can be an answer for 'entertainment' (I've seen this before). I'm not certain of the 'stage' bit.
'long before debut of opera' is the wordplay.
'long' becomes 'pant' (I've seen this before).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'debut of' indicates taking the first letters (I've seen 'debut' mean this).
The first letter of 'opera' is 'o'.
'pant'+'o'='PANTO'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for panto that I've seen before include "Slapstick theatre for children (abbr)" , "Seasonal "he's behind you!" entertainment" , "Christmas entertainment (abbr.)" , "In brief, traditional Christmas entertainment" , "Seasonal show, in short" .)