Hi, friends:

I hope you all had a great summer. I spent a lot of time on the beach, but I don't feel guilty about it! It's been an interesting season for me. I've started a Burt Bacharach show which had been postponed since 2003. I was singing at a club in San Francisco, and my friend, James, the bartender, suggested I do a tribute after he heard me sing "Make it easy on yourself".

Our premiere performance took place at Pacific Palisades and it went over quite well. I plan to take it to more venues. My band is a bunch of talented, nice guys. It's good to get a group of serious, but easy going folks who don't need to smoke pot to play awesome music! :-)

Here's to sound minds, sound hearts, and excellence! May you be blessed with these!


With love,
Yoly

Yoly is known to have a versatility that ranges from classical to jazz, pop and theatre. Her varied tastes in music have much to do with the music she’s been exposed to since she was a baby. “Being the youngest of 11 children, I grew up listening to my parents’ and siblings’ favorite songs. I learned to appreciate music from theatrical to jazz and pop genres spanning the 20th Century. I’m sure I learned songs subconsciously in my sleep while family and friends sang and played piano until the wee hours of the night.”

Music has always played a big part in her family. Her oldest brother, Tony, a baritone, sang on cruise lines all over the world and had concerts at the Herbst Theatre and the Louise M. Davies Hall in San Francisco. Her tenor brother, Angelo, performed in the Las Vegas circuit for many years and is a highly praised pianist and singer.

Her parents met while performing at a local theatre. “My mother was a soprano and a fine actress, usually playing very dramatic roles. My father made excuses to meet with her by saying he just wanted to help her with the acting. He was a real ladies’ man, an excellent crooner and a talented actor. He occasionally coached me on how to sing the old ballads.”

Attending San Francisco State University, Yoly’s dream was to become a journalist after her stint as the editor of her high school paper. However, after one semester, she realized journalism wasn’t for her. Singing professionally also did not appeal to her, but she decided to major in music because it seemed easy enough and she could at least enjoy herself in college. Well, she was wrong about the easy part, as well as about her not ever singing professionally. She did find a good circle of friends and loved being in the company of other performers. Her fondest memory is performing the role of Maizie in “The Boyfriend” at the Brown Bag Theatre and the Gilbert & Sullivan shows she performed in community theatre with college peers.

“I loved pop and theatrical music. I was not a fan of opera, but I was practically forced into it by the faculty jury at the end of the semester. I think I misled them to think my voice was operatic because I sang “The Way We Were” in a faked mezzo soprano operatic style. I sang it that way so I could get a good grade! However, I’m thankful because I did learn to love opera, especially Puccini and Verdi.”

The next few years, she studied opera and graduated with a Bachelor of Music. Encouraged by her clarinetist boyfriend, she aimed for a career in opera. She moved to Philadelphia and won a contest at Bryn Mawr College which gave her a year of free lessons with soprano Dolores Ferraro (a student of Licia Albanese) and then an Assistantship Award to attend State University of New York at Binghamton where she graduated with a Masters degree in Opera. There, she also performed with the Tri-Cities Opera Company.

She dreamed of performing the role of Madama Butterfly and her dream came true. Anthony Amato himself phoned to ask if she would take on the role of Madama Butterfly at the Amato Theatre in New York City. Though her career seemed to be rising, her personal life was not. A short time later, she moved back to San Francisco. She planned to quit singing and settle down, but that didn’t last long. An agent set her up on an appointment to audition for the “King & I.” She got the job and moved to the bright lights of Broadway where she understudied and performed the role of Lady Thiang.

“It was a wonderful time but also quite overwhelming. It was great to work with Lou Diamond Phillips, Donna Murphy, Faith Prince, Marie Osmond, and Randall Duk Kim and meeting the host of celebrities who came to see the show.”

Since then, quitting show business altogether is no longer an option. Opportunities come her way which require her to perform in a variety of styles. In 2003, she won Best Female Performer in the San Francisco Cabaret Competition held at the Herbst Theatre. Her knowledge of a wide repertoire of songs and the agility to learn and appreciate new music always come in handy.

She finds she has to be ready to sing in any style at the drop of a hat. Sometimes, there is a request for her to sing an opera aria, even in the middle of a jazz cabaret set! Yoly does try to please her audience as much as she can. “After singing three hours of jazz, I was requested to sing a Madama Butterfly aria at midnight. It’s not the healthiest thing to do to your vocal cords, but if the audience wants it, you’ve got to at least try!”

Yoly as Lady Thiang - Backstage at the Neil Simon Theatre

Yoly, January 2008

"When an artist possesses that indescribable quality that allows her to sound that good in so many different ways, it is sheer joy to sit and listen. In fact, I would have sat listening for another two hours, I had such a good time!"
- Don Grigware, ReviewPlays.com

"She has some voice. Her powerful aria won her Best Female Performer."
- Bruce Billingham, San Francisco Examiner, on Yoly winning Best Female Performer in the 2003 San Francisco Cabaret Competition

"The most riveting moment still belongs to Lady Thiang... Yolanda Tolentino delivered a 'Something Wonderful' that conveys an overwhelming sense of devotion."
- Aileen Jacobsen, Newsday

"Yoly the storyteller has a disarming charm about her... a woman of phenomenal talent"
- Pierce Centina, Search (April 2005 issue)