May 8, 1983

Film, as an inherently contemporary medium, might appear far removed from the stately anachronisms of opera. But a surprising number of present-day film directors seem to have become actively involved with opera, to the point of benign obsession. The two forms are not so disjunct as one might at first imagine. Both combine the arts in the synthesizing fashion favored by Western culture since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. Most films sublimate the music to a greater extent than in traditional opera. But the basic notion of a combination of the arts, all working in the service of a higher dramatic purpose, remains common to both. Right now in New York, examples of the film world's new fascination for opera are everywhere apparent -from the critical and popular success of Franco Zeffirelli's ''Traviata'' and Hans Jurgen Syberberg's ''Parsifal'' to Werner Herzog's ''Fitzcarraldo'' and Jean-Jacques Beinix's ''Diva'' to Public Television's offering of Patrice Chereau's Bayreuth ''Ring of the Nibelung'' to the nearweekly ''Live from the Met'' and ''Live from Lincoln Center'' operatic telecasts.

STEPPING out of the sales office at Beaver Creek, a resort communityi n the Rocky Mountains 110 miles west of Denver, Abraham Shames, who h ad been inquiring about buying a condominium, looked dazed. The bright Colorado sun can be disorienting, but there was a better explanation for his confusion. Mr. Shames, from Westbury, L.I., had just been told that condominium prices in Beaver Creek typically start at about $500,000. Undeveloped lots of less than one acre cost between $600,000 and $800,000. ''I'm shocked,'' Mr. Shames said. ''I've been in the real estate business 30 years in New York and I never heard of such a thing. Why so much money for a piece of a mountain?''

WASHINGTON IN the chess play of arms negotiations, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov tried last week to one-up President Reagan by offering to limit not only nuclear missiles and bombers in the European theater but also the number of warheads. Washington welcomed the new move because it considers the warheads the most vital element of the arms race to bring under control. President Reagan called it ''encouraging.'' He pledged to explore Soviet thinking further in the next round of talks starting in Geneva on May 17, for other passages of Mr. Andropov's speech left considerable confusion over the numbers he had in mind.

The Islanders, their regular season sometimes good, occasionally bad and often indifferent, rolled into their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup final tonight with an impressive 8-4 victory over the Boston Bruins before a crowd of 15,317 at Nassau Coliseum. Mike Bossy scored four goals, three of them in a four-goal second period to help the three-time defending Stanley Cup champions win the the Prince of Wales Conference final playoff, four games to two. ''Someone in Boston was screaming the other day that we didn't deserve to be here,'' said Bossy. ''They said we had a lousy regular season, and that's exactly how everyone saw it - lousy. But I don't think it was that bad, although it could have been a lot better.''

WASHINGTON THE headlines have shrunk and the whirlwind of activity has subsided to a steady breeze, but Representative James J.Florio and his staff continue to look into the workings of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. The Pine Hill Democrat is a member of two of the half-dozen Congressional committees still seeking answers to some of the questions that arose last October after the House Commerce and Energy Investigations Subcommittee began looking into the handling of the $1.6 billion toxic-waste cleanup fund - the Superfund. Basically, four questions are under investigation: - Was there political manipulation of the toxic-waste cleanup program? - Was there conflict of interest and perjury involving high E.P.A. officials?