Last year, I had the opportunity to have an original York CC tuba with both bells in the shop for about four months. The instrument seemed to be a great player, and the owner invited me to play it on some gigs until he could arrange to come and pick it up.
I first used the instrument for the Broadway production, "Chicago" in Davenport, IA, using the recording bell, and the instrument was amazing, just loved it, and so did everyone else. Then, I got called to play bass and tuba for a 1930's-style sweet band, and it was just perfect there, too. The bandleader said that the band had not sounded like that since George Boujie played his (now Jim Self"s) York CC with the Band in the 1960's. Then I took it to two different brass quintet gigs, and decide to follow decorum and use the upright bell. I got through the gigs alright, but the instrument then sounded so blah and I had to work a bit harder, too. For some of the reasons that Rick Denney mentioned, the upright bell just could not deliver the sound that the recording bell did. And, some horns are the other way. For a while I had a Conn 21J (3 valves, upright bell) as a project horn, and that instrument just sounded better and played wonderfully with an upright bell. I tried more than one recording bell on it, but none sounded as good as an upright bell on that one. There are so many variables that it would be hard to isolate why one bell works better than another on various instruments, but intentionally or not, I think some tubas were "made" to be recording, and some as upright-bell instruments.
I once had a 1935-vintage Conn 34J (4-top-pistons) that worked better as a recording bass, too. I played it in an orchestra, and got no complaints from anyone. In fact, after playing Tchaikovsky on a Christmas concert, the orchestra manager asked me what sort of tuba that was. I told him, to which he replied, "I haven't heard that kind of sound in years". I think that the two key elements are 1) to get-along with whatever group you are playing with, and 2) if you use a recording bass in a "serious" music setting, use a double-helping of judgement and discretion. With a good recording bass, you can sit back and take it easy, blowing-wise. In fact, you need to be able to play at the very low end of the volume spectrum, moreso than on an upright bell instrument.
I think the recording bass, considered modern from the 1920's through the 1950's, fell out of favor during the period of time when American culture started cherishing European style and culture in the 1960's and '70's. European tubas were rather affordable, had rotary valves, and had upright bells. Meanwhile, American makers were selling fewer instruments, and a detachable bell system requires a number of extra parts to be made, so it was easy to go with the flow and just make a one-piece, upright bell - fewer parts, less machining and casting, easier to make and sell.
So yes, I'd play a recording bell tuba in an orchestra if 1) the music was appropriate for this, and 2) the conductor was in agreement.