November 24, 1999

''Tristan und Isolde'' has been a passive presence in the big opera houses of the world, like an imposing building left vacant for lack of prime tenants. For years we have had the orchestras, the conductors, the directors and the means to bring Wagner's immense, hypnotic and deeply disturbing opera to life. What we have not had is people to sing it. ''Tristan'' perseveres in opera houses smaller and more hospitable to voices of lesser means, but the Flagstads, Nilssons and Melchiors capable of dominating the title roles have gone, and they have left us empty-handed. The requirements are staggering: eloquence, beauty, sheer bigness and stamina.

Michael Crichton may be derided by ''serious'' novelists, ''serious'' scientists and ''serious'' book reviewers for his popular techno-thrillers, the latest called ''Timeline,'' a story of quantum technology, time travel and 14th-century France. But he holds his own with armchair bibliophiles, who share his love of scholarship, his urge to order anything published by an academic press and his need for an oversize night table that can accommodate the tower of books he is always in the midst of reading.

Some Leaders Resist Call To Attend Trade Meeting President Clinton has quietly tried -- and failed -- to persuade leaders of major countries to attend a huge trade conference in Seattle next week in order to break deadlocks over politically sensitive economic issues like workers' rights, agricultural subsidies and America's self-proclaimed authority to block low-cost imports.

A wonderfully playful sequel, sustaining the first film's wit and novelty while bringing new sophistication to computer-generated animation. And here is welcome proof that Hollywood can still make movies to please audiences of any age or persuasion. From its opening (a perfectly adorable ''Star Wars'' parody) to its Capraesque conclusion, this is seamless work with more metaphorical cleverness than that usually found in the toy bin. Colorful new characters and more adventurous action enhance the story of how Woody falls into the clutches of a sleazy toy dealer, experiences new-found celebrity and needs to be rescued by his fabulous old friends. — Janet Maslin

Seeking to dispel a cloud of doubt that has shadowed her emerging campaign for public office, Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to New York yesterday to declare that she was in the race for the United States Senate to stay. She said she would move into her new house in Chappaqua, N.Y., as soon as the Secret Service said she could, and begin campaigning ''as vigorously as possible.'' ''It's time to get moving and get started,'' she said at a news conference at the United Federation of Teachers headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. Mrs. Clinton said that after four months of traveling across the state, ''I just became more and more convinced that this is a campaign that needs to be made, that the issues at stake are important ones, and that I have a lot to say about them.''