The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet is a code name created by Daevid Allen, which original idea is, as he says, 'an international ideological/spiritual/aesthetic communications network for artists of all kinds who share the common vision of warm hearted, pan-stylistic, inclusive art forms which serve the drive towards conscious evolution'.
The name was first imagined by Allen in the mid-1970s following experiences of a higher intelligence that guided the progress of his band Gong and was used in a French spelling ‘Compagnie d'Opera Invisible de Thibet’ as an alias for Gong’s composing credits.
Years later, it manifested as a musical outfit in 1986 in Australia under the leadership of Daevid Allen and Russel Hibbs. This first band spent two months in 1987 on and off in the studio recording the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet's eponymous album, before engaging on a tour.
Daevid Allen then left Australia to return to the UK in early 1988, encouraging Russell Hibbs to take the lead in the Australian band. They continued to tour sporadically and played at Woodford music festival in 1992.
Meanwhile, arriving in UK in 1988, Daevid Allen had also used the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet moniker for a short European tour, that lasted from March to May 1988. In 1989 Harry Williamson arrived from Australia to record and produce an album for the lineup up that included Wandana Turiya (harmonium, singing), Graham Clark (violin), Didier Malherbe (sax, ex Gong), Shyamal Maïtra (tablas), Harry Williamson (keys, guitar)… and the name changed to Gongmaison.
Two recordings from this time were released, none credited to the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet as they were billed then :
Live In 1988 - The Return, credited to Daevid Allen alone.
Live At The Glastonbury Festival 1989, credited to Gongmaison.
By May 1989, this Daevid Allen version of the IOCT changed its name to Gongmaison.
There was never a stable line-up for any Invisible Opera Company Of Tibet incarnation - that was not the idea. And since Daevid Allen himself encouraged anyone to pick up the ‘IOCT’ spirit, different band versions originated in different parts of the world creating an international umbrella group with shared or compatible songs and music, developing and promoting themselves simultaneously. Apart from the Australian/Allen IOCT band, there were 3 other versions :
- in Brasil : Invisible Opera Company Of Tibet (Tropical Version Brazil) created around 1988/1989 by Fabio Golfetti ;
- in US : The Invisible Opera Company Of Tibet (2) ;
- in UK : The Invisible Opera Company Of Tibet (3), created in 1992 by Brian Abbott.
In 1990, travelling for a short while to Australia, Allen assembled a new short-lived version of his Invisible Opera Company – now christened Invisible Opera Company Of Oz – that lasted only for a few rehearsals.
