When Delibes’s father died in 1847 his family moved to Paris so that the young Léo, who was 11, could continue having a good musical education. At first he found it difficult living in a large city as he was used to the countryside. He was a student of the well-known composer and teacher Adolphe Adam. At first he did well in his music lessons and won prizes, but after a few years he no longer won any prizes. He never tried to win the Prix de Rome which is what all French students of composition normally want to do. As a young boy he sang in choirs. Later he became a church organist and an accompanist at the Théâtre-Lyrique.