The Opera Man is an original character protrayed by Adam Sandler.
During Weekend Update, Opera Man sings the news. Earlier segments had Opera Man using Italian words, but later sketches had him using more English and less Italian. In a guest appearance, Opera Man was visited by his cousin played by retired cast member Jon Lovitz. Opera Man's style would often invoke fake Italian words such as adding "a"s or "o"s to English words, or by rhyming. One such type was when Tom Hanks won two consecutive Oscars, prompting Opera Man to sing "Take a vacation, go to France. Give someone else a chance!", then displaying a movie poster for Billy Madison, an inside joke that Adam Sandler movies are hardly Oscar-worthy.
Unlike many characters intended solely for Weekend Update, Opera Man was put in a stand-alone sketch prior to the host's monologue. The sketch was made to look like Opera Man in an actual opera (albeit a very short one to allow for time constraints of SNL sketches). Phil Hartman introduces the audience to saying that Opera Man has just filled up his car at a New Hampshire gas station and has also decided to take a gamble on a scratch-off lottery ticket. The crescendo increases as Opera Man becomes progressively happier as each box he scratches off reveals a symbol for the grand prize. Prior to scratching off the last box, Opera Man makes a quick prayer to God. Like most operas, the final music becomes tragic as Opera Man scratches off the last box, then looks in disappointment as the final box is a mismatch. Opera Man sings his disappointment through "No! No! Back to job! Guard of securito for Montgomery Ward-o."