For generations, the Puccini family had been connected with the church. After joining local choirs at the age of ten, Giacomo Puccini began his musical career as an organist at various churches in Lucca, his birthplace. In 1880 before his move to Milan, Puccini composed his Messa di Gloria, scored for tenor and baritone soloists with a four-part mixed choir and a full orchestra. His setting of Agnus Dei was later transformed into a madrigal and interpolated into the second act of Manon Lescaut, a work which established his reputation as an opera composer.