critical acclaim

La Vie Parisienne
"As usual Guillermo Silva-Marin gives the operetta a spirited, minimalist staging that places the emphasis firmly on the performers. For an evening of light comedy and joyous music in the City of Light, be sure to join them".
Stage Door, Toronto – Christopher Hoile 2013

Taptoo!
"Toronto Operetta Theatre made history by presenting the first ever professional production of the 1995 opera Taptoo! by composer John Beckwith and librettist James Reaney. With Taptoo! the TOT has reached a new level of excellence. Silva-Marin has made a virtue of necessity and has perfected for operetta a style of minimalist staging for maximum effect."
Stage Door, Toronto – Christopher Hoile 2012

Ruslan and Lyudmila
"Regardless of an unfinished libretto by Alexander Pushkin and the concert format of an opera highly fueled by fantasy, Opera in Concert's Director Guillermo Silva-Marin overcame such challenges with polished ease when the company opened its season Oct. 24
Opera Canada Magazine, Toronto - Winter 2010 – Geoffrey Chapman

The Mikado
"Director Guillermo Silva-Marin had his stage shtick down pat, particularly highlighting comic moments in the dialogue. Double entendres abounded and there were genuine belly laughs throughout. Over the years, Silva-Marin has developed a deft hand at moving bodies around the stage, and his productions flow easily between dialogue and music. The clever minimal set was made up of poles festooned with Japanese parasols, and there were nice touches with lighting, all courtesy of Silva-Marin, again."
Opera Canada Magazine, Toronto - Summer 2008 Edition - Paula Citron

Earnest, The Importance Of Being - World Premiere
"It is neatly, briskly and zestfully staged by director Guillermo Silva-Marin"
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, February 25, 2008 - Ken Winters

"TOT General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin has directed and designed the piece with flair and captured the feel of the Edwardian age."
Stage Door, Toronto, February 22, 2008 - Christopher Hoile

The Merry Widow (Ireland)
"Silva-Marin ensures that the men get to do a high kicking chorus line, and the revue style is reinforced by topical references."
The Irish Examiner, Cork, Ireland, Friday, June 8, 2007 - Michael Dervan

The Merry Widow
"Guillermo Silva-Marin has staged it all with a nice blend of romance and ribaldry, allowing every member of the cast their own moment to shine."
The Toronto Star, April 25, 2007 - Richard Ouzounian

Sarah Steinert as The Child and Brian Werhle as The Tree in L'Enfant et Sortilèges by Maurice Ravel January 31, 2007

GIANNI SCHICCHI and L'ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES "A Bold, brash McGill double bill - Stage Director Guillermo Silva-Marin's brash two-tone set was wonderfully conspicuous in its overstated Art Deco stylizing" The Gazette, Montreal, Sunday, February 4, 2007 - Kate Molleson "Bon surprises dans un bel écrin" Le Devoir, Montréal, Le Jeudi 1, Fevrier 2007 - Christophe Huss

CANDIDE
"Guillermo Silva-Marin has staged most of the piece with an inventive vivacity"
The Toronto Star, December 27, 2006 - Richard Ouzounian

Meara Conway as Dido in Dido & Aeneas by Henry Purcell November 23, 2006

DIDO AND AENEAS "Director Guillermo Silva-Marin found the golden mean between artifice and verismo - by encouraging a bit of both. We have seen flashier witches' caves, but the entry of pseudo-Mercury (a reptilian fellow born on stage as a kind of demon seed) was certainly memorable" The Gazette, Montreal, Saturday November 25, 2006 - Arthur Kaptainis

DIE FLEDERMAUS
"A Bat That Really Soars" - Silva-Marin directed with great attention to detail throughout, but his conception of Act 3 really made this production stand out. Silva-Marin has had the brilliant idea of making Frosch a would-be singer who fawningly admires the tenor Alfred (mistakenly imprisoned as Eisenstein). This idea keeps the music going as Alfred teaches the geeky Frosch how to sing culminating in a priceless impersonation of what might be called "The Two Tenors" complete with handkerchiefs."
Stage Door, Toronto, April 23-May 2, 2004 - Christopher Hoile

The test of any performance of this show is how well it approaches the craft and cleverness of Strauss himself. Toronto Operetta Theatre's Fledermaus, now at the Jane Mallett Theatre, went a respectable distance toward meeting that goal on Saturday. TOT's general director, Guillermo Silva-Marin was principally responsible for this. He directed, created the set, and wrote the updated gags and lyrics. He also performed the part of the jailer, Frosch, with near manic energy.
Toronto Star, April 26, 2004 - John Lehr

IDOMENEO
"Guillermo Silva-Marin conceived beautiful scenic movements, as effective as one could wish, emphasizing well the evolution between the different stages of the drama. In particular, the choruses demonstrated a remarkable effectiveness, astonishing power and irreproachable precision from every point of view."
Le Devoir, Montréal, Friday January 30, 2004 - François Tousaignant

SEMELE
"Much of the action and verse is stylized, but the staging of Guillermo Silva-Marin struck a fine balance between Restoration formality and erotic naturalism, using an attractive student cast to good advantage."
The Gazette, Montreal, Friday, November 9, 2001 - Arthur Kaptainis

Leo, The Royal Cadet
"It is much to the credit of director Guillermo Silva-Marin that he allowed the leopard-skinned, spear brandishing Zulus a measure of dignity, instead of making them the music hall characters they might well have been on the stage of Martin's Opera House back in 1889... Even the battle scene has been cleverly choreographed and danced in a stylized manner as a two-step rather than fought in a cartoon manner by the opposing sides."
Review by William Littler, The Toronto Star (Friday, May 4, 2001)

"The Toronto Operetta Theatre does the work a favour by not trying to make too much of it. They retain its innate sweetness while goosing up its fun... Guillermo Silva-Marin's staging, too, mixes fondness with a delicate mockery. The company can afford few visual resources, but the rented costumes were pretty, and such challenges as the Zulu battle were imaginatively solved. The chorus did unusually focused work: the ensemble of cadets achieved a truly stouthearted sound, and the bevy of maidens had true allure."
Review by Urjo Kareda, The Globe and Mail (Saturday, May 5, 2001)

Ariodante
"... Guillermo Silva-Marin assembled a splendid cast of singers to deliver this musical melodrama... Opera in Concert deserves congratulations, too. It has mounted more than 100 productions since its 1974 founding and surely its Ariodante will rate as one of its greatest achievements."
Review by Geoff Chapman, The Toronto Star (Monday, April 2, 2001)

"... I think the spark in this production came not only from its bull's eye musicality, but also from the sophisticated wit and joy with which the performers and dramatic advisor Guillermo Silva-Marin, embraced the sexual ambiguity - and titillation - of the cross-dressing... In all, it was an exhilarating evening; a real triumph for both Opera in Concert, and Toronto's patron saint of baroque opera, Peter Sandor, whose philanthropy made this production, like so many others, possible. Too bad it only ran for two performances - let's hope they'll encore it soon."
Review by Tamara Bernstein, National Post (Monday, April 2, 2001)

The Marriage of Figaro
"While no one would confuse the plain off-white drapery panels (designed by Patricia Ruel) with a set from an established house, this was essentially a well-mannered and traditional production that let Mozart's music and Lorenzo da Ponte's Italian libretto (sans surtitles) work their inevitable magic. Guillermo Silva-Marin, an experienced director from Toronto, steered clear of burlesque, at least most of the time, and the young performers moved confidently through their paces."
Review by Arthur Kaptainis, Montreal Gazette (Thursday, January 25, 2001)

"Tout sedéroule dans différents tons de blanc, aussi bien les costumes que les décors (draperies plutôt), manifestement inspirés de Ponnelle, et jusqu'à la guitare de Susanna. Le metteur en scène invité Guillermo Silva-Marin a évité les gadgets et a plutôt porté son attention sur le caractère des personnages, comme l'indique le jeu généralement vrai et naturel de tous. Du même coup, le côté franchement comique des Nozze passe au premiere plan et la salle rit presque continuellement."
Revue par Claude Gingras, La Presse, Montreal (Jeudi, 25 Janvier, 2001)

The Merry Widow
"The ensemble had its highs, always eager and willing to let fly, but director Guillermo Silva-Marin (also TOT chieftain) should have kept them under tighter rein. When performing in disparate units, both male and female actors pulled off hilarious stunts, notably when indulging in can-can antics in a Parisian nightclub... and this Widow, with its pleasing costumes, functional symbolic sets and first-rate finales, makes an evening of mostly merry entertainment."
Review by Geoff Chapman, The Toronto Star (Sunday, December 24, 2000)