Wagner opera: nothing to a Frenchman and almost nothing to an American (6)
I believe the answer is:
rienzi
'wagner opera' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'nothing to a frenchman and almost nothing to an american' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'nothing' could be 'z' and 'z' is found within the answer.
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found in the answer.
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'rei' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for rienzi that I've seen is " Early opera by Wagner".)