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It's important to understand the difference between a preface, an introduction, a foreword and a prologue. A preface is written by the original author, forwards and introductions are written by other people (such as friends, editors and scholars), and a prologue is not only by the author but is part of the actual work and therefore must be read.
Since a true preface is written by the author, it's definitely worth reading if you're studying a classic or difficult work. The question for me isn't if but when.
If the preface was added many years later, I might choose to read it after the rest of the book. That way, I can get some sense of how the original reader felt and then learn more about the book afterward. If the writer is difficult or recondite, as Joyce can be in Finnegan's Wake, then I'm definitely reading the preface first (and any scholarly annotations by others).
Whether or not I read the introduction is entirely a matter of who wrote it and how good or insightful they are. If I'm reading a translation of Proust, I want to read the introduction by the translator if only to learn what compromises were made and what insights the task might have afforded. There will often be structural observations as well, which can help when one is tackling a six-volume psychological novel that predates modern psychology.
As I said, a prologue should always be read. A science fiction writer friend tacked one onto his novel at the last minute and was dismayed when reviewers felt the style was slipshod. He'd invested all of his seductive craft into the beginning of the first chapter and hadn't realized the prologue replaced it as the opening.
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