Depends what ignitor we are talking about.
The two wire ones may in theory work like Sean explained, but that is the case only forfluorescent preheat starters.
Otherwise the circuit use to be a bit more complex:
For LPS it is form of a HF oscillator (capacitor in series with a switch element, plus control part).
Some (high power MH) use a kind of Delon multiplier separated by a resistor, plus a kind of spark gap discharge element. The multiplier generates Varc*Constant and charges a capacitor with it. When the lamp has no arc, the ballast OCV makes that capacitor to charge above the breakdown voltage of the spark gap, so it connect the high voltage from the charged capacitor(s) onto the terminals, forming a pulse there. Once the main arc is ignited, the voltage is too low to reach the breakdown on the spark gap, so it is inactive.
The three wire ignitors are of two types according to how they work and one of them has two types on how they are implemented.
The one described by Sean is the superimposed type, so it contains all HV generating components. Its advantage is it does not expose the ballast winding to the HV (nor the connection between the lamp and ballast so it could be long, so remote ballast with ignitor close to the lamp), but disadvantage is the secondary of the pulse transformer is in the main arc current path, so mainly with high power lamps it needs to be beefy.
Variant of the same functionality is the semiparallel circuit, where the ignitor uses the ballast coil as the HV pulse transformer: The ballast has a tap few turns from the lamp end. The ignitor then discharges the capacitor into the few turn section of the ballast coil. That induces the HV pulse to the rest of the ballast winding, so the HV starting pulse for the lamp. These are common in the US, as it sufices with just 4 small components. But exposes the ballast winding to the high voltage.
The last major topology is again using the resonance between the capacitor and part of the ballast coil (~20% from the mains side on series choke), with a switch (triac) in the circuit generating the high frequency oscillations. The oscillator uses to generate up to 700V peaks, the ballast coil acting like a pulse transformer, multiplies that about 5x, so forming the 3.5kV or so pulses from it. Common with series choke ballasts on 230V (e.g. Philips
SN57). Advantage is, it can handle quite long wire to the lamp (ir includes it into the resonance equation), so may easily act as a remote ballast/ignitor, the drawbacks are exposing the ballast and wiring to the HV, plus passing the HF primary currents via mains, so needs the PFC capacitor to be present and wired close together with the ballast and ignitor.