FIRST OFF . . .

For the first time, the Metropolitan Opera will be broadcast live Saturday to the Soviet Union and four Western European countries. The televised New York performance of Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” is to feature sopranos Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle, mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos and tenor James King, and will be conducted by the Met’s music director, James Levine. The matinee telecast is expected to reach an audience of about 180 million people in the Soviet Union, Austria, Great Britain and West Germany. “We think this is the largest TV opera audience ever sung to,” said the telecast’s executive producer, Peter Gelb. In addition, a 14-minute film of the performance’s rehearsal, produced by New York-based Maysles Films, will be shown during Saturday’s intermission. The program will be taped and shown April 27 in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service.