STAGE

An ear infection prevented composer Stephen Sondheim from attending the successful London opening of his revived musical “Pacific Overtures.” Doctors advised Sondheim not to travel to London for the premiere because of the infection, said Peter Jones, managing director of the English National Opera. “Pacific Overtures” was a flop when it was staged on Broadway in 1976, but the audience at the English National Opera’s London Coliseum theater gave the new production an enthusiastic reception. The British domestic news agency Press Assn. said the musical looked set to become Sondheim’s second running success in London. His musical “Follies” is currently a sellout at the Shaftesbury Theatre.