At the Met

Any habitue of the Metropolitan Opera House and purlieu is bound to get a good many chuckles from Mare Simont's book, "Opera Souffle." The volume consists entirely of 60 pictures "in bravura," which is merely the opera lover's way of saying that they are all impertinently witty comments about opera and opera-lovers.

Those who know the Met an d its inhabitants will enjoy "Opera Soufile" a great deal more than those who don't. Many of the scenes depicted contain caricatures of actual performers. Jan Peerce, in consume as the Duke of Mantua, struts through the seven pages devoted to "Rigoletto," while Leonard Warren, in the role of the jester, glowers at two spear carriers in the malediction scene. The caricatures are bold and simple, and they very seldom miss their mark.

Mr. Simont is poking fun at those strange, histrionic, and sometimes absurd people who live in the world of opera. In his 60 black and white pictures he points up the absurdities of nine French, German, and Italian operas. A proper sense of reverence pervades the entire gallery, however, and the result is that "Opera Souffle" is good-natured, excellent fun.