Yes, fortunately there is a workaround : reverting to opera 99:
Steps:
note this steps if you need to review them offline
download the last sane version of opera here :
https://get.geo.opera.com/pub/opera/desktop/99.0.4788.9/
unplug the internet
install the downloaded version (no need to uninstall the horrible one)
in the shortcut you use to launch opera, go to the properties, shortcut tab, and add:
" --disable-update" (with the space, without the quotes) to the Target.
delete or rename the opera_autoupdate.exe file
The system to handle multiple version is quite well done, so your shortcut should now target opera 99, and not automatically update when you plug back the internet.
