Amina Annabi Queen of the Night at Festival

It took nearly four hours for French-Tunisian singer Amina Annabi to arrive on stage Saturday in the Mediterranean Festival at the California Plaza. But when she finally strolled into the spotlight, dark hair flying, colorful skirts swirling, and unleashed her passionately virtuosic vocals, the night was hers.

Amina has not been especially well-known in this country, but if there’s any justice she may finally be on the verge of the breakthrough she deserves.

Performing with a quartet of instrumentalists, she blurred the lines between the drama of French chanson and the twining melismas of Arabic song, occasionally unleashing the penetrating cries of Middle Eastern vocal ululations. Her star-quality virtuosity was confirmed with a stunning a cappella rendering, with Arabic melodic touches, of the Fanny Brice/Billie Holiday/Barbra Streisand classic “My Man.”

Also compelling on the bill, the French group Lo’Jo, led by the gravelly voiced, cabaret-style singing and keyboard work of Denis Pe’an, was enhanced by group co-founder Richard Bourreau’s violin and the symbiotic singing of sisters Nadia and Yamina Nid El Mourid (the latter of whom also played soprano saxophone, kora and frame drum). Like Amina, Lo’Jo fused sounds of the Mediterranean and Africa into a seamless, colorful tapestry of music.

Moroccan-born Hassan Hakmoun added his rhythmically driving takes on Gnawan music, and the trio Musica’ntica explored the roots of Southern Italian tarantella music.