Giacomo Puccini, born on 22 December 1858, died on 29 November 1924, was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Puccini was given a general education at the seminary of San Michele in Lucca, and then at the seminary of the cathedral. One of Puccini's uncles, Fortunato Magi, supervised his musical education. Puccini got a diploma from the Pacini School of Music in Lucca in 1880. In 1880, at the age of 21, Puccini composed his Mass. Puccini wrote an orchestral piece called the Capriccio sinfonico as a thesis composition for the Milan Conservatory, and it was performed at a student concert at the conservatory on 14 July 1883, conducted by Franco Faccio. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera he later developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents. His most renowned works are La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (1924), all of which are among the most frequently performed and recorded of all operas.