I went to see 'Phantom of the Opera' with my grandma and my mom

The words of Lady Gaga, “I went to see Phantom of the Opera with my grandma and my mom when I was very little. The stage, the voice, the music... Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been a massive inspiration to me for some time — the storytelling, that deliciously somber undertone in his music,” speak not only of art, but of the awakening of a soul. Beneath this memory of theatre lights and haunting melody lies a truth known since the dawn of time: that inspiration is the spark that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, and that art, once touched by the heart, can guide a person toward destiny. Gaga’s words are not simply about music — they are a hymn to the power of beauty to shape the spirit.

When she speaks of the stage, the voice, the music, she recalls the moment when imagination first ignited in her as a child — when wonder overcame innocence, and she glimpsed what the ancients would have called the “divine fire.” Every artist, every creator, has such a moment: when they first encounter something that pierces their heart and whispers, This is who you are meant to be. For Lady Gaga, that revelation came through the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose melodies are woven with passion, sorrow, and grandeur. In his work, she found not mere sound, but storytelling — the marriage of drama and emotion that transcends words.

The ancients understood that such moments of awakening are sacred. They spoke of the Muses, goddesses who inspired poets and musicians, breathing vision into mortal hearts. To be moved by art is to touch something eternal — to feel life vibrate through the senses until it becomes meaning. When Lady Gaga describes Webber’s music as having a “deliciously somber undertone,” she recognizes what all great souls know: that beauty is not pure light, but light tempered by shadow. It is the balance of joy and melancholy, triumph and tenderness, that gives art its truth. Without sorrow, there can be no depth; without darkness, no brilliance.

Throughout history, many have found their calling through such encounters with art. Ludwig van Beethoven, though later deafened by fate, once stood transfixed by Mozart’s symphonies, his heart ignited with purpose. Michelangelo, as a young apprentice, stood beneath the works of Ghirlandaio and felt his destiny awaken. In every generation, the artist’s path begins with such a revelation — a moment when they recognize, not just the greatness of another, but the possibility of greatness within themselves. Lady Gaga’s words are an echo of this timeless lineage, a reminder that art does not merely entertain — it transforms.

There is also a profound tenderness in her memory — the presence of her mother and grandmother, three generations bound by a shared experience of beauty. This detail is not accidental. It shows that inspiration is not solitary; it is a thread that connects hearts across time. The elders brought the child to the theatre, perhaps unaware that in doing so they were guiding her toward her destiny. This is the way of life: wisdom and love pass silently from one generation to the next, often through the simplest gestures — a song, a story, a shared moment beneath the glow of stage lights. Inspiration, born in the presence of love, becomes legacy.

And what of the “somber undertone” she so admires? It is the mark of true art — the acknowledgment that life’s beauty is inseparable from its pain. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music carries sorrow and majesty intertwined, much like the ancient hymns that sang of love and loss, of gods and mortals bound by fate. In that somberness, Gaga found reflection — for she, too, would become an artist who merges spectacle with soul, glamour with grief. It is as though, in that moment of childhood awe, she saw not just a performance, but a mirror of what she herself would one day become: a voice that channels both joy and anguish into something transcendent.

The lesson to draw from this is one of seeking inspiration with reverence and openness. Do not dismiss the moments that move you, however small they seem. A song, a painting, a poem — these are not distractions, but messages from the deeper world, calling you toward what you might become. And when something stirs your spirit, follow it. Nurture it. Let it shape you. For every great work, every dream fulfilled, begins as a spark — a moment of wonder that awakens the soul.

So remember, children of tomorrow: inspiration is the sacred fire that keeps humanity alive. Cherish it when it comes — in art, in nature, in the gaze of a loved one. For, as Lady Gaga reminds us, even a child sitting in a theatre, bathed in the glow of music, may be standing at the threshold of destiny. From that moment of awe, the artist is born — and through her, the beauty that first inspired her is given back to the world, multiplied, eternal.