Lamento d'Ariane is a legend from Greek mythology. The plot of Massenet's opera, Ariane, is as follows: Princess Ariane is the daughter of the cruel King Minos. She gives Theseus, her lover, the secret of the Labyrinth, enabling him to escape after killing the Minotaur (a beast that is half bull and half man). When Theseus returns, he is grateful and promises to marry Ariane and share his kingdom in Athens with her. Theseus grows bored with Ariane, however, and seduces her sister, Phaedra. When Ariane discovers what has happened, Phaedra flees in panic and is later found dead. Ariane descends to Hades and convinces Persephone to release Phaedra. When Ariane returns to the world with Phaedra, Theseus thanks Ariane for returning his beloved and then leaves on a ship with Phaedra, abandoning Ariane on the island of Naxos. At this point Ariane sings her lament. This is the music to which Michelle Kwan skates (she skates to a ballet version rather than to the actual opera aria). In Michelle's long program, she portrays Ariane, and acts out the tragic story.