``Chicago and All That Jazz'' may have wound up satisfying neither the confirmed fan nor the inquisitive newcomer. By trying to be both a serious survey of a bygone era and a showcase for today's artists, the program turned out to be a not quite perfect example of either. Still, the network's willingness to experiment in this musical field is to be commended, and future essays happily anticipated.

Even Joan Sutherland may not have anticipated the tremendous reception she received from the Metropolitan Opera audience attending her debut as Lucia in Donizetti's ``Lucia di Lammermoor'' Sunday night.

The crowd staged its own mad scene in salvos of cheers and applause and finally a standing ovation as Miss Sutherland took curtain call after curtain call following a fantastic ``Mad Scene'' created on her own and with the help of the composer and the other performers.

Her entrance in Scene 2, Act 1, brought some disconcerting applause even before she had sung a note. Thereafter the audience waxed applause happy, but discriminating operagoers reserved judgment as her singing showed signs of strain, her musicianship some questionable procedure and her acting uncomfortable stylization. As she gained composure during the second act, her technical resourcefulness emerged stronger, though she had already revealed a trill almost unprecedented in years of performances of ``Lucia.'' She topped the sextet brilliantly.