Claire van Kampen, Prolific Composer and Wife of Mark Rylance, Dies at 71

Van Kampen was also a writer, playwright and accomplished musicologist

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 05: Actor Mark Rylance (L) and his Wife Claire van Kampen (R) attend the "Bones And All" special screening at the 2022 AFI Fest at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 05, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

Claire van Kampen, a playwright and director who composed music for TV and theater and the wife of Mark Rylance, has died, her family said in a statement Saturday. She was 71.

Van Kampen, also a concert pianist and theater director, died in Germany surrounded by family. No cause was given.

Her music was featured on Broadway and in London productions including “Richard III,” “Twelfth Night” and others with her husband in the cast. Van Kampen worked at Shakespeare’s Globe for nearly 20 years, eventually becoming its first female director.

She also wrote “Farinelli and the King,” which Steven Spielberg urged her to turn into a screenplay, and composed the score for the production that started in London before it moved to Broadway.

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