Could you give a year and geographic location?
Hi, you may be interested in a few earlier threads
What was it like to attend one of the first operas? - featuring /u/Whoosier & /u/caffarelli
What was the historical opera audience decorum, and how and why did it change? - featuring /u/caffarelli
Would Mozart's audiences have understood Italian? - featuring /u/kieslowskifan
These posts have all been archived by now, so if you have follow-up questions for any of the users therein, just ask here and tag their username to notify them.