Olivia Newton-John has, for better or worse, played a huge role in my life as a pop culture fan. As children, my siblings and I obsessively watched the films Xanadu and Grease - both of which prominently feature Ms. Newton-John's singing and acting - committing every line of dialog and lyric to our collective memory.

In my more impetuous days as a record collector, I found myself fascinated with her albums, poring over her transition from a '70s soft pop star to a country star to a disco pop superstar. Those records are long since gone from my collection, but they have stained my subconscious for life, something I realized far too late when I found myself mouthing the words to the majority of the songs on this DVD.

This performance film captures Ms. Newton-John in her native Australia, performing with a full band and the Sydney Orchestra in the wonderful setting of the Sydney Opera House. Having been recorded and filmed in (I'm guessing here) 2006, the set list is exactly what you would anticipate for someone who has been making records since 1971 - hit after hit, peppered with personal favorites and the occasional cover song.

What I was not anticipating is the fine voice that Ms. Newton-John still has after all these years. Sure, she can't hit the high notes on songs like "Have You Never Been Mellow" anymore, but her vocals have thickened out nicely. It helped maintain some much needed vibrancy the set of rockers that comes midway into this performance.

Watching DVDs like this, though, I can't get past the slickness of the performances that render them just shy of being heartless. If it weren't for the goofy moments of Ms. Newton-John waving at the audience members and the nostalgia I have for her work, this would have been near to impossible for me to sit through.