He has exhibited at Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago; the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis; Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago; Macalester College Art Gallery, St. Paul; the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY; the Buffalo Arts Studio, NY; and the CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Opera has taught at the Art Institute of Illinois; The School of The Art Institute of Chicago; Wilbur Wright College, Chicago; and Daeman College, Amherst, NY. He is currently a part-time faculty member in the Photography Department at Columbia College, Chicago. He received a BA from SUNY New Paltz and an MFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago.