Miss Sutherland first sang Lucia at Covent Garden in 1959. (The first Metropolitan Opera broadcast on Dec. 9 will introduce her as Lucia.) She has since turned to Bellini, whose opera ``Beatrice di Tenda'' in a concert version with the American Opera Society introduced her to New York last season. She will sing ``La Sonambula'' with it here next week.

Anyone for musical Ping-pong?

It's really quite fun - as long as you like games. You will need a stereo music system, with speakers preferably placed at least seven or eight feet apart, and one or more of the new London ``Phase 4'' records. There are 12 of these to choose from, all of them of popular music except for the star release, Pass in Review (SP 44001). This features the marching songs of several nations, recorded as though the various national bands were marching by your reviewing stand. Complete with crowd effects, interruptions by jet planes, and sundry other touches of realism, this disc displays London's new technique to the best effect.

All of the jackets carry a fairly technical and detailed explanation of this new recording program. No reference is made to the possibility of recording other than popular music in this manner, and it would not seem to lend itself well to serious music. Directionality is greatly exaggerated most of the time; but when the sounds of the two speakers are allowed to mix, there is excellent depth and dimension to the music. You definitely hear some of the instruments close up and others farther back, with the difference in placement apparently more distinct than would result from the nearer instruments merely being louder than the ones farther back. This is a characteristic of good stereo recording and one of its tremendous advantages over monaural sound.