Some of the most compelling characters in literature are physically abnormal, which adds an additional performance challenge if or when they're brought to the stage. Greats from Edmund Kean to Kevin Spacey have portrayed Richard III; Anthony Hopkins and Charles Laughton excelled as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"; and John Hurt and David Bowie transformed themselves into "The Elephant Man."

But none of those characters have to sing.

Which makes the title role in Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" one of the most demanding — and popular — ever. The story is a psychological spider web with plot elements of murder, court intrigue, rape and kidnapping — and Rigoletto, a hunchbacked court jester whose beautiful daughter Gilda falls for the despicable Duke of Mantua, is at the heart of it all. His dilemma comes down a hope for Gilda's happiness versus a flaming desire for vengeance against the Duke.

Acknowledged as one of Verdi's masterpieces, "Rigoletto" boasts dynamic and gorgeous music and, if the parts of the Duke and Gilda might have the most star-spangled vocal parts, Rigoletto requires robust pipes to go with the demands of the character's mindset and anatomy.

"It's a very unique role that drives the whole show," says Adrian Sylveen, artistic director of the Connecticut Lyric Opera, whose presentation of "Rigoletto" takes place Sunday at the Garde Arts Center. The production is in Italian with English supertitles and a full orchestra.

"The psychology of the part has a context of superficial conceit in the sense that he's the court clown, which is in direct contradiction to his internal torment caused by his family affairs. And he has to be able to express that musically as well as physically," he says.

Baritone Jimi James, a Connecticut Lyric Opera veteran, portrays Rigoletto with, Sylveen says, a wisdom that's consistent with his offstage reputation as a mentor to the company's younger actors.

"Jimi's a very good actor to portray a person with the problens faced by Rigoletto. He's a very physical actor who's also very experienced and uses that in terms of expressive believability," Sylveen says.

As one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, "Rigoletto" typically surfaces in any company's programming with some regularity. But Sylveen doesn't get tired of the piece.

"At the most basic level, I enjoy a good tragedy, and 'Rigoletto' is essentially just that. I like the complexity of the characters and the situations," he says.

"If you look at the operas we've done this year, 'Faust' is pretty straightforward in its message and 'The Marriage of Figaro' is, well — " he laughs " — 'The Marriage of Figaro.' And then there's 'Rigoletto,' where he's cursed with a set of certain circumstances that present unimaginable options."

In fact, the various psychological issues in "Rigoletto" essentially became the driving force as the company's production evolved.

"The whole purpose of staging this was built around the those relationships," Sylveen says. "We spent almost no time, for example, blocking the production but instead just talking about and exploring the relationships and tensions. Generally, I believe that acting onstage is basically a reflection of who the actors are. You have to give them the freedom to be themselves and the best result — particularly with an opera like 'Rigoletto' — is that they understand and react to the psychological intricacies in any given moment."

Implicit in "Rigoletto" is the theme of power and the idea that powerful people tend to get more so, often at the expense of those less powerful. In fact, the whole thing is somewhat familiar to anyone paying much attention to the Democratic and Republican campaigns for president.

"Well, we chose our season before the circus of this election," Sylveen laughs, "and we can't see the future. But opera certainly isn't excluded from reflecting life or politics. In fact, regardless of any given details of a particular slice of reality, it is the job of theater to reflect that. Yes, often the guy who has it all continues to have it all, and the guy who doesn't often loses what he does have. That's just the reflection of humanity. But I will say ours is a very traditional production, and we'll let the audience interpret how it applies to them."

"Rigoletto," 4 p.m. Sunday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; $38-$52; (860) 444-7373.