Here in San Francisco we had the rare treat of a proper curtain-raiser a
couple of weeks ago when Rostropovich opened the first of two Shostakovich
concerts with his fizzy Festive Overture.  But you're right, the overture
has become quite rare; you're more likely to hear one as an encore from
a touring orchestra than as the opener to a subscription concert (the
SF Youth Orchestra, for instance, brings Candide along for encores).  In
part the traditional overture slot on the program been given over to
those too often dreadful 7-15 minute commissioned pieces with pretentious
titles.

Latecomers aren't a big problem here, unless there's a worse-than-usual
backup on one of the bridges.

  Art Scott
  Livermore, Cal.